Who was your gay mentor?

This is a little embarrassing, but until I watched “Unzipped” I had never heard about “Grey Gardens” and had never seen “Valley of the Dolls” - both of which feature prominently in the movie.

Now, I have both movies memorized.

So - I guess my gay mentor is Isaac Mizrahi?

I had a few along the way, but the main one was a neighbor I met, who was probably 15ish years older than me, but was an old Southern Queen and seemed much older.

He introduced me to Judy Garland, to the movies of Doris Day, to so many performers of the 60s and 70s. He gave me a real sense of what being gay in the 70s was like. He was very sweet and generous, though he could also cut a bitch from time to time.

I had a number of mentors who were older sex partners but that isn't for this thread lol.

I did not have one. As a teenager, I wish I could have turned to an older, out, gay man who might have told me that all the heartache, loneliness, and not fitting in would go away and that it was okay to be gay.

I'm a college professor and openly gay, and it is important for me to be a role model for younger guys who might be feeling the way I did when I was their age. I don't know if I'm a good one, but it's important that young gay guys see older gay men who are well adjusted and living good lives.

I liked sports, but there was no Carl Nassib, Keegan Hirst, or Gareth Thomas when I was younger.

I stumbled onto gay culture, because I loved to read. I loved old movies, I loved the arts. I guess I picked a sensibility about being gay

John Waters.

Books, especially Maupin and Mordden